MADURAI: The Madurai Corporation has intensified waste segregation at source, but Micro Compost Centres (MCCs) are struggling to process the increase in biodegradable waste because the centres lack shredders and waste has to be sorted manually by workers.
According to the corporation, Madurai generates over 900 tonnes of solid waste every day, of which nearly 52% is wet waste. With the civic body stepping up campaigns to encourage source segregation at the household level, the volume of biodegradable waste reaching MCCs has steadily increased.
The corporation operates 38 MCCs across the city, of which 36 are operational, while the remaining two are under maintenance. According to the Madurai Corporation’s MCC report dated July 30, the centres together processed 18,389.95 kg of biodegradable waste in a day. Zone 5 recorded the highest processing volume at 5,262 kg.
Corporation officials said MCCs now have to handle 20-25 tonnes more solid waste, with each centre handling an average of 500 kg to one tonne of waste.
However, activist T Nageswaran alleged that the existing infrastructure is underutilised. He claimed that each MCC has the capacity to process nearly five tonnes of biodegradable waste a day, enabling the city’s network to handle close to 195 tonnes.
“Despite this, the centres are processing only about 25 tonnes daily. The absence of shredding machines forces workers to manually process the waste, limiting the capacity of the facilities. Strengthening the MCCs would significantly reduce the quantity of wet waste being transported to the Vellakkal dumping yard,” he said.
Responding to the charge, a senior corporation official said proposals have been submitted to install shredding machines at the MCCs. Until then, waste processing will continue to be carried out manually by sanitation workers, the official said, adding workers are provided with safety equipment.
